Land Securities & Ahead Partnership inspires students

September 30, 2016

Land Securities has teamed up with its national education partner Ahead Partnership – to inspire students into jobs in retail.

Land Securities has a portfolio of retail developments across the country which offer the opportunity for local schools and colleges to participate in inspiring challenges focussed on the retail sector. In Leeds, Ahead Partnership is delivering activities with Land Securities in both the White Rose and Trinity shopping centres.

The ‘Trinity Kitchen’ Pop Up Challenge invites sixth form students to pitch a new idea for a pop up restaurant that could operate within Trinity Kitchen. The students work up concepts of their own that are presented to a team of business “dragons”. They are challenged to think about everything from product design and placement, through to sourcing, logistics and waste.Now in its 3rd year this competitive challenge is proving very popular amongst the city’s schools and gives real insights into how the retail sector operates.

In Oxford, where Land Securities is currently developing the brand new Westgate Shopping Centre, due to open in Autumn 2017, it has just launched its latest school retail challenge. Students from three schools in East Oxford will work as a team to create a business plan for a new product, which they will create and then trade as a business for a day in a ‘pop up’ store.

“Working with local schools is always an essential and very rewarding element of our retail developments” commented Phil Barron, Community Manager, Land Securities. “Our partnership with Ahead allows us to showcase the retail sector through activities linked to our different retail sites. Campaigns such as Retail Matters really helps to bring some focus to the opportunity within retail and to inspire students about this sector.

Julian Buttery, Development Director, Ahead Partnership added “We have developed an excellent programme of enterprise challenges with Land Securities and we have received great feedback from the students who take part. We are very excited about our ‘Made in Oxford’ challenge and look forward to working with the local schools over the next year”.

Retail Matters Week

We know that careers in retail can be both fulfilling and rewarding. Retail Matters Week celebrates people working in retail places, highlighting the positive actions the industry is implementing to develop and progress careers beyond the shop floor.